Landscaping spans service businesses, horticultural production, outdoor water use, lawn maintenance labor and the management of yard trimmings. These U.S. statistics cover different populations and periods, so each measure is labeled by definition, geography and whether it is observed, estimated, surveyed or forecast.
Key Landscaping Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful measures across the landscaping economy and its environmental footprint:
- 117,969 employer establishments were in the U.S. landscaping-services industry in 2023, under NAICS 561730.
- 23,060 qualifying horticultural operations were counted in the United States in 2024, with each selling at least $10,000 of specialty products.
- U.S. qualifying horticultural operations reported $18.3 billion in sales in 2024.
- Average horticultural sales were $794,000 per qualifying operation in the United States in 2024.
- Horticultural sales increased 33% from $13.8 billion in 2019 to $18.3 billion in 2024.
- Wholesale accounted for 85% of U.S. horticultural sales in 2024.
- U.S. horticultural operations with hired workers employed 248,827 people in 2024.
- Grounds-maintenance workers held about 1.3 million U.S. jobs in 2025.
- The median U.S. grounds-maintenance wage was $19.27 per hour in May 2025.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 162,500 grounds-maintenance openings per year from 2025 through 2035.
- Residential outdoor water use is nearly 8 billion gallons per day in the United States, according to an EPA estimate.
- Outdoor water use exceeds 30% of average household water use in the United States, according to an EPA estimate.
- Inefficient irrigation can lose as much as 50% of outdoor water to wind, evaporation and runoff in the United States, according to an EPA estimate.
- A WaterSense irrigation controller can reduce average-home irrigation use by up to 30%, according to an EPA scenario estimate.
- U.S. yard trimmings generated an estimated 35.4 million tons in 2018, representing 12.1% of municipal solid waste generation.
- Composting or wood-waste mulching handled 22.3 million tons of U.S. yard trimmings in 2018.
- Residential-lawn evapotranspiration measured 0.6–1.3 millimeters per day in humid sampled U.S. cities in a 2018 field study published in 2023.
- Residential-lawn evapotranspiration measured 2.2–3.6 millimeters per day in hot, dry sampled U.S. cities in the 2018 field study.
Contents
- Landscaping and horticulture economy
- Horticultural sales channels and plant markets
- Landscaping workforce, wages and demand
- Landscape irrigation and outdoor water use
- Yard-trimmings generation and recovery
- Residential lawn water demand across climates
Landscaping and Horticulture Economy Statistics
The broad landscaping economy is measured through several overlapping statistical frames. Census business data count landscaping-service establishments, while the horticulture census counts operations producing and selling specialty products.
The Census Bureau recorded 117,969 employer establishments in NAICS 561730, landscaping services, in 2023. This is the Census landscaping-services industry definition and does not include every landscaping-related business. 561730: Landscaping services – Census Bureau Profile
The 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties counted 23,060 qualifying operations and reported $18.3 billion in sales. Qualifying operations sold at least $10,000 of horticultural specialty products, so this population is not the full landscaping-service market. 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties
| Horticulture measure | United States result | Period and definition |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying operations | 23,060 | 2024; sold at least $10,000 of specialty products |
| Sales | $18.3 billion | 2024; floriculture, nursery and specialty crops |
| Average sales | $794,000 per operation | 2024; qualifying operations |
| Production expenses | $14.919 billion | 2024; horticultural production, not all service costs |
The same census reported 15,382 operations with hired workers and 248,827 hired workers in 2024. Those counts describe the horticultural-production population rather than total landscaping employment.
Horticultural sales rose 33%, from $13.8 billion in 2019 to $18.3 billion in 2024. This is a five-year census comparison, not a measure of every landscaping service or installation.
Horticultural Sales Channels and Landscaping Plant Markets
Horticultural products reach customers through wholesale, retail and landscape-related channels. The channel figures below are product sales and should not be read as contractor revenue or household participation rates.
In 2024, wholesale represented 85% of horticultural sales, while direct-to-consumer channels represented 18%. The categories describe the census marketing-channel framework and are not mutually additive as a simple household-market share.
| 2024 sales channel or product category | Sales | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | $6.329 billion | Horticultural channel total |
| Home-improvement stores | $2.191 billion | Horticultural products |
| Retail florists | $2.166 billion | Horticultural products |
| Landscape contractors | $2.089 billion | Supplier channel, not contractor revenue |
| On-site sales | $1.813 billion | Census marketing category |
| Mail-order or internet | $507 million | Horticultural products |
Nursery-stock sales totaled $5.339 billion in 2024. Within that category, broadleaf-evergreen nursery stock generated $965 million and coniferous-evergreen nursery stock generated $873 million; these are product sales, not the value of landscape installations. 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties
Landscaping Workforce, Wages and Projected Demand
Labor statistics show the scale of grounds maintenance while separating broad and detailed occupations. In 2025, grounds-maintenance workers held about 1.3 million U.S. jobs, including 1,188,600 landscaping and groundskeeping jobs, 70,600 tree-trimmer and pruner jobs, and 25,700 vegetation pesticide-handler, sprayer and applicator jobs.
The occupational distribution also shows where workers are employed. Services to buildings and dwellings employed 48% of grounds-maintenance workers in 2025, while self-employed workers represented 20%.
| Grounds-maintenance measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $19.27 per hour | May 2025 |
| Lowest-paid 10% | Less than $15.01 per hour | May 2025 |
| Highest-paid 10% | More than $28.10 per hour | May 2025 |
| Average annual openings | 162,500 per year | 2025–2035 forecast |
The $19.27 median hourly wage is an occupational pay measure, not a landscaping contract price. The BLS projection of 162,500 annual openings from 2025 through 2035 includes replacement needs and is a forecast rather than an observed hiring total. Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook Handbook
Landscape Irrigation Statistics and Outdoor Water Use
Outdoor landscaping is a major residential water-use category in the EPA’s national estimates. Residential outdoor use is nearly 8 billion gallons per day, more than 30% of average household water use, and can reach 60% of household use in arid U.S. regions.
The EPA also estimates that inefficient irrigation can lose as much as 50% of outdoor water through wind, evaporation and runoff. Poorly maintained automatic irrigation can waste up to 25,000 gallons per household annually, while well-managed irrigation can reduce use by 15%, or nearly 7,600 gallons per year.
| Irrigation measure | EPA estimate | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor share of household use | More than 30% | U.S. average household estimate |
| Arid-region outdoor share | Up to 60% | Regional example, not national average |
| Inefficient irrigation loss | Up to 50% | Wind, evaporation and runoff |
| Poorly maintained automatic irrigation waste | Up to 25,000 gallons per household annually | Potential maximum |
| Well-managed irrigation reduction | 15%; nearly 7,600 gallons per household annually | Potential saving |
A WaterSense controller can reduce average-home irrigation use by up to 30%, or save up to 15,000 gallons per home annually. The EPA’s counterfactual estimate says universal use of properly operated WaterSense controllers could save up to 390 billion gallons annually among U.S. homes with automatic sprinklers, while microirrigation uses 20% to 50% less water than conventional sprinklers under conditions that depend on design, installation and management. Statistics and Facts | US EPA
These water figures are agency estimates rather than a dated national withdrawal series. Actual savings vary by irrigation equipment, weather, landscape design and management.
Yard-Trimmings Generation, Composting and Disposal Data
Yard trimmings include grass, leaves and tree or brush trimmings in the municipal solid waste stream. EPA estimates for 2018 provide a national snapshot of generation and end pathways.
An estimated 35.4 million U.S. tons of yard trimmings were generated in 2018, equal to 12.1% of MSW generation. Composting or wood-waste mulching handled 22.3 million tons, producing a yard-trimmings composting rate of 63%.
| 2018 yard-trimmings pathway | Quantity or share | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Generated | 35.4 million tons | U.S. MSW estimate |
| Share of MSW generation | 12.1% | MSW-stream share |
| Composting or wood-waste mulching | 22.3 million tons | Excludes backyard composting |
| Composting rate | 63% | Share of estimated generation |
| Energy-recovery combustion | 2.6 million tons | MSW pathway |
| Share of MSW combusted with energy recovery | 7.4% | Combusted-MSW denominator |
| Landfilled | About 10.5 million tons | MSW landfill estimate |
| Share of MSW landfilled | 7.2% | Landfilled-MSW denominator |
These are 2018 MSW estimates, not measurements of all landscape material generated on private property. The EPA categories also use different denominators for generation, combustion and landfilling, so their percentages should not be treated as one common distribution. Yard Trimmings: Material-Specific Data
Residential Lawn Water Demand Across U.S. Climates
A 2018 field study published in 2023 measured residential-lawn evapotranspiration across 79 households in six U.S. metropolitan areas. It provides measured climate and lawn-management observations, not a nationally representative estimate.
| Sampled climate group | Lawn evapotranspiration | Study scope |
|---|---|---|
| Humid sampled cities | 0.6–1.3 mm per day | Six-city U.S. study; 2018 field data |
| Hot, dry sampled cities | 2.2–3.6 mm per day | Six-city U.S. study; 2018 field data |
| All sampled yards | About 0 to over 2,000 liters per yard per day | Volume scales with lawn area |
The measured daily ET range was higher in the hot, dry sampled cities than in the humid subset. Estimated lawn ET volume ranged from about 0 to over 2,000 liters per yard per day because lawn area varied substantially.
The sample also illustrates how landscaping choices affect the size of the irrigated surface. Average Boston high-input lawn area was 467 square meters, with a 399-square-meter standard deviation, while average Phoenix water-conserving lawn area was 11 square meters, with a 12-square-meter standard deviation; these are sample subgroup measures, not population estimates.
The study covered 79 households, and some Phoenix water-conserving yards had no turf. Its results are therefore useful for comparing sampled climates and management types, but they do not establish national lawn prevalence or average residential water demand. Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across the United States